Korea

Deposed President Marc Ravalomanana brought the house of Madagascar down upon himself. But he has been replaced by a young untested leader who, although he has some public support, is full of himself and clearly contemptuous of democratic institutions. The result is that investment in Madagascar, and perhaps across the continent, will be hurt, writes Stephen Hayes

Le nouveau président de Madagascar a annoncé l’annulation du projet agricole de Daewoo Logistics

South Korea’s project to transform Madagascar into its breadbasket, branded by some as neo-colonial, came to an abrupt end on Wednesday when the Indian Ocean island’s new president said he would shelve the plan.

A deal for South Korea's Daewoo Logistics to lease over 1 million hectares of Madagascar to grow food crops is off, the island's new leader said on Wednesday.

Daewoo Logistics, the South Korean company, said on Wednesday that it was confident that Madagascar’s new government would support a plan to lease a huge tract of farmland on the island to grow food crops to send back to Seoul.

The truth is that if exploitation of a developing country’s natural resources by the West is colonialism, so it is when rich countries of the South do the same.

Dossier spécial de « Campagnes solidaires », le bulletin mensuel de la Confédération Paysanne

Governments in developing countries should exercise caution when granting land concessions to foreign governments and corporations. Despite the short-term investments, most – if not all – of the production will be exported, making the long-term food security situation even worse in these host countries.

‘The small farmers cannot do anything in the face of this giant. We can only cry over the loss of our ancestor’s land, that we have tried to preserve as best as possible,’ says Rindra Andriambola, co-ordinator of the Andasibe red rice Slow Food praesidium.

Depuis les émeutes qui ont fait plus de 110 morts fin janvier dans la Grande Ile, l’immeuble est gardé par une escouade de gendarmes et d’agents de sécurité. Nous sommes à Ivandry, dans le quartier d’affaires d’Antananarivo.

En fait, les responsables de Daewoo n’annoncent pas qu’ils envisagent d’annuler leur projet. Il n’est question que de retard pour la culture de maïs. De plus, ce n’est qu’une éventualité et non une information. La culture d’huile de palme sur 300 000 ha n’est pas concernée.

"We can't eat semiconductors or auto parts." When Richard Shin of Daewoo Logistics told me this during an interview last week, it hit me hard. Shin is the manager of the Korean firm's $6 billion project to carve a 1.3 million hectare farm out of Madagascar, a formal French colony.